Anadoluvius, a new name for a Miocene ape from Anatolia

[VD231991]

A new fossil ape-related paper is available online:

Sevim-Erol, A., Begun, D. R., Sönmez Sözer, Ç., Mayda, S., van den Hoek Ostende, L. W., Martin, R. M. G., and Cihat Alçiçek, M., 2023. A new ape from Türkiye and the radiation of late Miocene hominines. Communications Biology 6 (1): 1–10. doi:10.1038/s42003-023-05210-5.

If case anyone's aware, Sevim-Erol et al. (2023) erect Anadoluvius (which is the Turkish translation of Anatolia) as a new genus for the late Miocene great ape Ouranopithecus turkae, described by Güleç and Pehlevan (2007) from central Anatolia in Turkiye based on newly discovered specimens that are more complete than the holotype palate. Although the authors make the case that hominines originated in southern Europe and later dispersed into Africa, I disagree with this viewpoint because the limited material for Chororapithecus and Nakalipithecus means that even if these taxa are members of Ponginae rather than prehistoric gorillas, then it doesn't change the fact that all hominids originated in Africa because gaps still exist in the early evolutionary history of Hominidae in Africa and the co-existence of the pongine Ankarapithecus and kenyapithecine Griphopithecus alpani with Anadoluvius in Anatolia show that basal hominids and crown hominids immigrated to southern Europe and Anatolia from Africa. 

Güleç, S., and Pehlevan, K., 2007. A new great ape from the late Miocene of Turkey. Anthropological Science 115 (2): 153–158. doi:10.1537/ase.070501.